How did Lucy walk? Although the famous 3.2-million-year-old skeleton shows that she was undoubtedly an upright walker, our incomplete knowledge of her feet has fed
Year: 2023
More African Genomes are Being Sequenced to Increase the Diversity of Genomic Data
About 30 million or so people have had their DNA sequenced in the 20 years after the first human genome was decoded. Yet, only of
Neanderthal genes helped our ancestors adjust to ‘Winter Time’
A group of American researchers have found evidence that genes derived from Neanderthals helped ancient people adapt to a new light regime in Eurasia, different
Neanderthals, Denisovans, And Modern Humans Might Have Intermingled
The Southern Caspian Corridor may have been a human hotspot. The presence of archaic genes within the modern human genome tells us that Homo sapiens once interbred with
Neandertals hunted dangerous prey. How they killed them.
Neandertals were skilled hunters. Many archaeological sites show their ability to kill large mammals like bison, horse, and red deer. They occasionally killed mammoth or
New evidence is revealing the ages of death, birth, and menarche in Neandertals
Analysis of dental cementum is yielding new insights into the ages when ancient people faced significant physiological stresses. Last week I was in Zagreb where
Chimpanzees have their own language — and scientists just learned how they put “words” together
The discovery of a chimp group’s 390-word “language” has profound implications for the evolution of human speech Three chimpanzees sitting in a group appear to
Why are we digging Rakhigarhi a 9th time? This Harappan site is a gift that keeps giving
The current excavation season aims to unearth the many land-use patterns within the limits of the seven mounds at Rakhigarhi and beyond. On a bright
Waqf boards are India’s big urban landlords. But whose interest are they serving?
Waqf boards are the third largest landowners in India, after Armed Forces and Railways. But India’s Muslim community is still struggling for basic needs. The
Dancing Shiva in Samarkand: Central Asian traders spread Hinduism, Buddhism along Silk Road
800 years before Babur, Hindu gods were worshipped by merchant diasporas in Central Asia. Afghanistan, they say, is the graveyard of empires. Central Asia, if