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☆ Was the Stone Age Actually the Wood Age?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Franz Lidz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The basic chronology — Stone Age to Bronze Age to Iron Age — now underpins the archaeology of most of the Old World (and cartoons like “The Flintstones” and “The Croods”). Thomsen could well have substituted Wood Age for Stone Age, according to Thomas Terberger, an archaeologist and head of research at the Department of Cultural Heritage of Lower Saxony, in Germany. “We can probably assume that wooden tools have been around just as long as stone ones, that is, two and a half or three million years,“ he said. Of the thousands of archaeological sites that can be traced to the era, wood has been recovered from fewer than 10. The projectiles unearthed at the Schöningen site, known as Spear Horizon, are considered the oldest preserved hunting weapons.

Persons: Christian Jürgensen Thomsen, Thomsen, Thomas Terberger, “, Terberger, heidelbergensis Organizations: Department of Cultural Heritage, National Academy of Sciences Locations: Danish, Europe, Lower Saxony, Germany, Schöningen

☆ Naming a species after a celebrity may do more harm than good
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

But it's very difficult to change a species' scientific name, and that can lead to regrets. The list of species named for celebrities is lengthy and includes everything from flies (Beyoncé) to lichen (Oprah Winfrey) to lizards (Lionel Messi). An eponym is a scientific species name based on a person, either real or fictional. AdvertisementAdvertisementUniversity of Oxford biologist Katie Blake and her co-authors found that species with celebrity names had almost three times as many page views on Wikipedia as non-famously monikered control species. AdvertisementAdvertisementSome examples include Adolf Hitler, Cecil Rhodes, and George Hibbert, all of whom have species named after them.

Persons: —, Taylor Swift, Leonardo DiCaprio, David Attenborough, Oprah Winfrey, Lionel Messi, Jimmy, Sericomyrmex radioheadi, Tarantobelus, roundworm, Jeff Daniels, Taylor Swift's millipede, Katie Blake, cuvier, Georges Cuvier, Andre Seale, Blake, Hitler, Christopher Bae, Adolf Hitler, Cecil Rhodes, George Hibbert, Sergio Pitamitz, Bae, Cecil John Rhodes, There's, heidelbergensis, CESAR MANSO, Rhodes, bodoensis, Bodo D'ar, Jimmy Buffett’s “, Hal Horowitz, Hibbert, George Rinhart, Stephen B, Heard, Charles Darwin's Barnacle, David Bowie's Spider Organizations: Service, Virginia Tech, University of Oxford, VW, Getty, University of Hawai'i, American Ornithological Society, NPR Locations: Mano, Slovenia, Africa, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Right, Spain, AFP, Ethiopia

Our species, Homo sapiens — with our complex thoughts and deep emotions — were the only true humans to ever walk the Earth. A study last week found early humans were building structures with wood before H. sapiens evolved. This ability to read ancient DNA revolutionized the field, and it is constantly improving. He specializes in creating lifelike models of ancient humans for museums, including the Smithsonian and the American Museum of Natural History, in hopes of helping public perception catch up to the science. They haven't been able to gather much ancient DNA from Africa, where H. sapiens first evolved, because it has been degraded by heat and moisture.

Persons: ”, Chris Stringer, ” Stringer, sapiens, Rick Potts, naledi, heidelbergensis, John Shea, “, Svante Paabo, Paabo, Bence Viola, Potts, Shea, ’ ” Shea, let’s, Janet Young, Young, John Gurche, Gurche, ” Gurche, “ They’re, they’re, it’s, haven't, we’ll, Mary Prendergast Organizations: Stony Brook University, University of Toronto, Canadian Museum, Smithsonian, American Museum of, Rice University, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: Africa, Europe, Indonesia, Asia, Swedish, East, Southeast Asia

☆ Zambia find shows humans have built with wood for 476,000 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The rarity of wood preservation at early archaeological sites - it is perishable over time - means scientists have little understanding of how early humans used it. "Wood can be shaped into a variety of forms making it an excellent construction material that is strong and durable," Barham added. The Kalambo Falls logs were determined to be from about 476,000 years ago. Wooden tools for foraging and hunting are known from about 400,000 years ago. "Use of wood in this way suggests the cognitive ability to these early humans was greater than we have believed based on stone tools alone."

Persons: Larry Barham, Barham, Geoff, heidelbergensis, Will Dunham, Daniel Wallis Organizations: University of Liverpool, REUTERS, Aberystwyth University, Thomson Locations: Zambia, Handout, Africa's, England, Wales, Morocco, Kalambo, Clay, Israel, Washington

NEW YORK (AP) — Researchers have uncovered a simple structure from the Stone Age that may be the oldest evidence yet of early humans building with wood. But it is much more complex than I thought.”Barham and his team dug up the log structure — plus a handful of wooden tools — from a riverbed site that sits above a waterfall in Zambia. They think the crossed logs could have been the base for a bigger structure like a walkway or a platform. The log structure was made at least 476,000 years ago, while the wood tools are slightly younger, under 400,000 years old. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group.

Persons: It's, ”, Larry Barham, ” Barham, Barham, ’ ” Barham, couldn't, Geoff, —, Dirk Leder, Annemieke Milks, “, ” Milks Organizations: —, University of Liverpool, telltale, Aberystwyth University, Cultural Heritage, University of Reading, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: Nature, Zambia, Wales, Africa, Germany’s, Saxony

☆ The early ancestors of humans were reduced to 1,300 individuals and came close to extinction, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Early human ancestors faced near-extinction between 800,000 and 900,000 years ago, scientists say. An extreme climate event might have caused the evolutionary bottleneck. The population of our ancestors might have been reduced to just 1,280 individuals for about 117,000 years. For a population of that size, you just need one bad climate event, an epidemic, a volcanic eruption and you're gone." This population decline occurred about the same time human ancestors split from Neanderthals and Denisovans.

Persons: Giorgio Manzi, Chris Stringer, Stringer, heidelbergensis, Manzi Organizations: Service, Guardian, Sapienza University of Rome Locations: Wall, Silicon, London, Africa, Eurasia

☆ A frigid apocalypse doomed early humans in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili REUTERS/File PhotoAug 10 (Reuters) - Long before our species Homo sapiens trekked out of Africa, earlier human species also spread to other parts of the world. The frigid interval - comparable in intensity to the more recent ice ages - appears to have rendered Europe inhospitable for the bands of early human hunter-gatherers, as extreme glaciation deprived them of food resources. Fossils and stone tools indicate that Homo erectus established a foothold in Eurasia and later southern Europe relatively early in its history. The human species who subsequently colonized Europe proved more resilient amid persistent glacial conditions. "The study provides insights into the initial vulnerability of early human species to environmental changes and how eventually they adapted to increasing glacial climatic stress," Timmermann said.

Persons: David Lordkipanidze, David Mdzinarishvili, Chris Stringer, Stringer, Axel Timmermann, Chronis Tzedakis, erectus, Homo, sapiens, Timmermann, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Georgian Academy of Sciences, REUTERS, David Mdzinarishvili REUTERS, Pusan National University, University College London, Thomson Locations: Dmanisi, Tbilisi, Africa, Europe, Spain, London, South Korea, Eurasia, Georgia, Italy, Germany, Washington

☆ 300,000-year-old footprints are some of the oldest in Europe and show how our ancient ancestors co-existed with rhinos and elephants on lake and river shores
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Kelly Burch | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Three fossilized footprints belong to an extinct species of ancient humans dating back 300,00 years. The prints are among the oldest in Europe and are the oldest ever found in Germany. The fossilized prints were covered for millennia, until a mining company began clearing the area to access coal deposits. The fossilized prints of ancient humans and animals paints a picture of how these species may have co-existed. Researchers found the first ancient rhino print in EuropeThe human prints were surrounded by many more fossilized footprints from prehistoric animals.

Persons: —, paleobotany, Flavio Altamura, Benoit Clarys, Jordi Serangeli, Serangeli, Altamura, antiquus Organizations: Service, University of Tübingen, Senckenberg Locations: Europe, Germany, Lower Saxony, Heidelberg, Schöningen, Siberia, Asia

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