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CNN —Same-sex sexual behavior has been observed in more than 1,500 animal species, but a new study has found that it is massively underreported by researchers. Observations of this same-sex behavior in animals, such as sexual mounting and genital touching, date back to the 1700s and 1800s. In a study published Thursday in the journal PLOSOne, a team of researchers at the University of Toronto, Northwestern University and the University of Warsaw found that experts who study animal behavior are underreporting and rarely publishing their observations of same-sex sexual behavior. The study surveyed 65 experts and found that 77% of them observed same-sex sexual behaviors in the species they studied. Davis added that there have been other obstacles that get in the way of documenting same-sex behaviors among animals.
Persons: , ” Karyn Anderson, , Anderson, cuddle, David Hecker, Josh Davis, it’s, , Davis Organizations: CNN, University of Toronto, Northwestern University, University of Warsaw, Bremerhaven Zoo, DDP, Getty Locations: Bremerhaven, Swedish, London, esculentus, Luisenpark, Germany
But the impact of ancient DNA, which has revolutionized archaeology in Europe and higher latitudes, has been more limited in tropical areas because DNA degrades more easily in warm conditions. However, recent advances in ancient DNA technology are expanding its reach, she said. And suddenly, we now have the ability to do these large-scale genomic studies and apply ancient DNA as a tool to help us understand the past in Mesoamerica,” Warinner said. The team compared the ancient DNA with that of 68 residents of the present-day Maya community of Tixcacaltuyub. “They were super happy to learn that they were related to the people that once inhabited Chichén Itzá,” Barquera said.
Persons: , Rodrigo Barquera, Max Planck, , El, Chichén Itzá, Donald Miralle, Rubén Mendoza, wasn’t, Christina Warinner, John L, Loeb, “ We’re, ” Warinner, Vera Tiesler, Tiesler, Johannes Krause, Warinner, It’s, ” Barquera, Ermila Organizations: CNN, Max, Max Planck Institute, California State University, telltale, Social Sciences, Harvard University, Evolutionary, Boys, Autonomous University of Yucatán, ” Twins, Twins Locations: Chichén, Mexico’s Yucatán, archaeogenetics, Leipzig, Germany, El Castillo, Monterey Bay, Europe, Itzá, Tixcacaltuyub
All humans have at least a little Neanderthal DNA, a 2020 study found. AdvertisementThen, around 75,000 years ago, Neanderthals were living in Asia and Europe when some humans started moving out of Africa. To figure out when our ancient human ancestors hooked up with Neanderthals, the researchers compared stretches of Neanderthal DNA in their genomes. For example, the researchers found both current and ancient humans have Neanderthal genes that affect metabolism, immunity, and skin pigmentation. They speculate that these characteristics may have benefited ancient humans who inherited them and then kept passing them on.
Persons: , they've, intermingling, John Hawks, University of Wisconsin – Madison, Bill O'Leary, Max Planck, Hawks, Nikola Solic, hasn't Organizations: Service, Business, University of Wisconsin –, Smithsonian Museum, Washington, Getty, Max, Max Planck Institute, Evolutionary Anthropology, University of California, Hawks, Reuters Locations: Asia, Europe, Africa, Berkeley, West Nile
Stone Age Paleo diet was not rich in meat, scientists say
  + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com   time to read: +7 min
CNN —What did people in the Stone Age eat before the advent of farming around 10,000 years ago? Scientists analyzed chemical signatures preserved in bones and teeth belonging to at least seven different Iberomaurusians and found that plants, not meat, were their primary source of dietary protein. The evidence suggested that the Iberomaurusians consumed “fermentable starchy plants” such as wild cereals or acorns, according to the study. The work undermines the idea that a Stone Age diet was meat heavy — a rigid assumption perpetuated by present-day dietary trends like the Paleo diet. The transition to agriculture was a complex process that occurred at different times and proceeded at different rates, in different ways with different foods, in different places, Pobiner said.
Persons: Heiko Temming, , Zineb Moubtahij, Max Planck, Klervia Jaouen, ” Jaouen, Iberomaurusians, ” Moubtahij, , Briana Pobiner, wasn’t, Jaouen, Pobiner, Organizations: CNN, Géosciences Environnement, Max Planck Institute, Stone, Smithsonian National Museum of Locations: what’s, Morocco, Cave, Géosciences Environnement Toulouse, France, Leipzig, Germany, Taforalt, Peru, Levant
With opulent graves but no written records, the empire and its people have remained largely in the shadows of history until recently. But a landmark April 2022 study involving ancient DNA taken from the graves of the Avar elite shed light on the empire’s far-flung origins. A tiny sample is drilled from a bone at the ancient DNA laboratory at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. In the case of men, researchers found two partners in 10 cases, three partners in four cases and four partners in one case. “Polygamy (having multiple marriage partners), serial monogamous marriages and extramarital relations are all possible explanations,” she said.
Persons: , Zsófia Rácz, Rácz, aren’t, Guido Alberto Gnecchi, Max Planck, Eötvös Loránd University Múzeum Lara Cassidy, , polygyny, Ruscone, Cassidy, Bryan Miller, wasn’t Organizations: CNN, of Archaeological Sciences, Eötvös Loránd, Múzeum, University’s, Archaeological Sciences, Max, Max Planck Institute, Eötvös Loránd University, Trinity College Dublin, Turks, Central, University of Michigan Locations: Central, Eastern Europe, Hungary, Rákóczifalva, Budapest, Leipzig, Germany, Europe, Mongolia, Caucasus, what’s, Constantinople, Byzantine, Eurasia
On the Trail of the Denisovans
  + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Carl Zimmer | ) www.nytimes.com   time to read: +1 min
March 2, 2024Neanderthals may have vanished 40,000 years ago, but they are no strangers to us today. But there’s no such familiarity with the Denisovans, a group of humans that split from the Neanderthal line and survived for hundreds of thousands of years before going extinct. In a new review paper, anthropologists tally all of the fossils that have been clearly identified as Denisovan since the first discovery in 2010. Nevertheless, many scientists are growing increasingly fascinated by Denisovans. “I find Denisovans way more interesting,” said Emilia Huerta-Sánchez, a geneticist at Brown University.
Persons: Kevin Bacon, , Janet Kelso, Max Planck, Denisovans, Emilia Huerta, Sánchez Organizations: Max, Max Planck Institute, Brown University Locations: Africa, Leipzig, Germany
This led them to Ilsenhöhle cave in Ranis, Germany, one of several sites across Northwestern Europe where LRJ artifacts have been found. AdvertisementMining ancient DNAWhen they excavated the cave, the researchers uncovered more than just LRJ artifacts — they came upon tiny bone fragments, too. AdvertisementTo that end, they extracted DNA, which confirmed the bones belong to Homo sapiens, providing strong evidence that they were responsible for the LRJ artifacts. According to their data, Homo sapiens were present in Ranis 47,500 years ago — thousands of years earlier than previously thought. Geoff M. SmithQuestions remain about how warm-weather-adapted Homo sapiens survived such a dramatic transition.
Persons: , Josephine Schubert, sapiens, , Jean, Jacques Hublin, Hublin, Tim Schüler, Max Planck, ” Hublin, Dorothea Mylopotamitaki, Homo sapiens, Marcel Weiss, “ It’s, sapien, Geoff M, Smith, Geoff Smith, Organizations: Service, Business, Burg, College of France, Max, Max Planck Institute, University of Kent Locations: Ranis, Europe, Germany, Northwestern Europe, Western Europe, Africa, Scandinavia, Siberia
What old bones reveal about the earliest Europeans
  + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com   time to read: +7 min
Modern humans, or homo sapiens, weren’t previously known to have lived as far north as the region where the tools were made. “The Ranis cave site provides evidence for the first dispersal of Homo sapiens across the higher latitudes of Europe. It also shows that Homo sapiens, our species, crossed the Alps into the cold climes of northern and central Europe earlier than thought. Using the same technique, the team also managed to identify human remains among bones excavated during the 1930s. However, the protein analysis was only able to identify the bones as belonging to hominins — a category that includes Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis, or Neanderthals.
Persons: weren’t, , Jean, Jacques Hublin, Max Planck, Marcel Weiss, Friedrich, , hominins, neanderthalensis, Elena Zavala, ” Zavala, denning, Dorothea Mylopotamitaki “, Sarah Pederzani, William E, Banks, ” Banks, wasn’t Organizations: CNN, Max, Max Planck Institute, Alexander University Erlangen, Evolutionary Anthropology, University of California, University of La, University of Bordeaux Locations: Europe, Ranis, Germany, France, Paris, Leipzig, Moravia, Poland, British, Nürnberg, Berkeley, Siberia, Eurasia, University of La Laguna, Spain,
Scientists based in Australia have found that mouse-sized male antechinus trade sleep to leave more time for reproductive activities during mating season, with one male who was monitored halving his sleep time during that period. Non-breeding dusky antechinus spend an average of 15.3 hours of the day asleep, according to the researchers. “Sleep restriction in breeding male antechinus is likely to be an adaptive behavioral response driven by strong sexual selection,” the paper said. To study the semelparous marsupials, researchers examined two antechinus species: dusky antechinus (Antechinus swainsonii) and wild agile antechinus (Antechinus agilis) both captive and wild. Lesku said researchers would next like to examine how male antechinus deal with restricting their sleep for three weeks.
Persons: ” Erika Zaid, , Erika Zaid, Francesca Leonard, Zaid, John Lesku, antechinus, ” Lesku, Erika Zaid “, Volker Sommer, ” Sommer, Lesku Organizations: CNN, La Trobe University, , University College London Locations: Australia, Melbourne
Read previewThe popular Paleo diet is based on the belief that we are better off eating like our ancestors by sticking to a largely meat-heavy diet. "One way to think about it is as soon as anybody tells you that the Paleo diet was one thing, you can stop listening," said Pontzer, who wasn't involved in the study. The paleo diet is a high-protein diet that emphasizes unprocessed foods. AdvertisementThere is no one Paleo dietThis isn't the only research that disproves the model often held up by proponents of the modern-day definition of the Paleo diet. What's clear is that a meat-heavy diet isn't reflective of what people ate thousands of years ago.
Persons: , Randy Haas, Herman Pontzer, Pontzer, wasn't, Haas, Loren Cordain Organizations: Service, Business, University of Wyoming, Duke University, University of Liverpool, BI Locations: Peru, Patjxa, Germany
Duke students, she thought, seemed more well rounded than students on some other campuses. I think it was me being a little bit naïve.” Other Duke students who identify as F.G.L.I. At Duke — as well as elite colleges that admit more low-income students — their graduation rate tends to be similar to the overall graduation rate. Over the past decade, as other elite colleges paid more attention to low-income students, they wooed some who once might have attended Duke. “Duke students are really oriented to the world,” she said.
Persons: Ben Denzer, Perkins, Duke, ” Juliana Alfonso, DeSouza, , Stephany Perez, Sanchez, University of Chicago —, Pell, Duke Duke, Melinda French Gates, Adam Silver, ” Gary Bennett, Grant, Bates, Brown, Pell Grant, ” Bennett, we’re, Ithaka, Yale Conn, , Juliana Alfonso, Juliana, Duke Rice, Austin U.N.C, , Karen Dong, ” Dong, ” Randi Jennings, Dong, Duke’s F.G.L.I, Duke —, ” Jennings, Randi, Jennings, Alfonso, David M, Rubenstein, “ It’s, ” Alfonso, Colleges don’t, Bennett, Caroline Hoxby, Christopher Avery, Louis, Holden Thorp, ” Thorp, Ron Daniels, Johns Hopkins, ” Daniels, Catharine Bond Hill, Thorp, Hopkins, Michael Bloomberg, Johns, “ Duke Organizations: Duke University, Perkins, Ivy League, Stanford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Chicago, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Pell Grants, Duke, Pell Grants Harvard, Penn, Cornell, Dartmouth, Brown, Chicago, U.S . News, Colleges, Midwest, California Institute of Technology, Notre Dame, Bucknell, Georgia Tech, Oberlin, Reed, Tufts, Tulane, Wake, Universities, Wall Street Journal, University of California, University of South, College, Princeton N.J, Pomona Calif, Dartmouth N.H, Stanford Calif, Caltech Calif, Amherst Mass, Grinnell Iowa, Claremont McKenna, Vanderbilt, Opportunity, Elite, Spurs, Texas North, Southern Methodist University, Davidson, California Massachusetts, Stanford Harvard, Berkeley UMass Amherst, Amherst College Pomona, University of Texas, parka, Mardi Gras, Daily, West Union, LIFE, Uber, ” Colleges, Washington University, Hopkins, Vassar College, Johns Hopkins, University of Michigan, University of Virginia, University Locations: San Antonio, South Carolina, M.I.T, United States, Durham, N.C, Georgetown, Georgia, California, San Diego, U.C.L.A, University of South Dakota, University of South Florida, America, Middlebury, Northwestern, Pomona, Swarthmore, Harvard, Texas North Carolina, Texas, Canada, Myrtle Beach, Dallas, China, New Orleans, Irish, Camden , N.J, , St, Johns Hopkins, Wash
“About 98.7 percent of human ancestors were lost at the beginning of the bottleneck, thus threatening our ancestors with extinction,” the scientists wrote. But outside experts said they were skeptical of the novel statistical methods that the researchers used for the study. The studies all take advantage of the same basic facts of our biology: every baby is born with dozens of new genetic mutations, and some of those mutations can be handed down over thousands or even millions of years. By comparing genetic variations in DNA, scientists can trace people’s ancestry to ancient populations that lived in different parts of the world, moved around and interbred. They can even infer the size of those populations at different times in history.
Persons: , Stephan Schiffels Organizations: Max Planck Institute Locations: Leipzig, Germany
What science got wrong about Ötzi the murdered iceman
  + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com   time to read: +6 min
CNN —Ötzi the Iceman, whose frozen remains were found in a gully high in the Tyrolean Alps by hikers in 1991, is perhaps the world’s most closely studied corpse. Each year, thousands visit his mummy contained in a special cold cell at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy. South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology/Dario FrassonThe genome also appeared to rule out a previously proposed genetic affinity between Ötzi and present-day Sardinians. An expert humidifies Ötzi's mummy at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology . South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology/Marion LafoglerIt’s not the first time a chapter in Ötzi’s fascinating story has gotten a rewrite, Pilø said.
Persons: CNN —, , Albert Zink, Zink, , Marco Samadelli, Gregor Staschitz Zink’s, Johannes Krause, Max Planck, ” Krause, Ötzi, it’s, Lars Holger Pilø, ” Pilø, Pilø, ” Zink, Dario Frasson, Turkey —, Marion Lafogler It’s Organizations: CNN, South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, Genomics, Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, Max, Max Planck Institute Locations: Tyrolean, Bolzano, Italy, , Farmers, Tyrol, archaeogenetics, Leipzig, Germany, Europe, Norway, Italian, Turkey, Ötzi, South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology .
What’s more, the scientist said, the idea sends a pernicious message to women that pregnancy is inherently dangerous. “It perpetuates a narrative of bodily incompetence,” Dr. Warrener said. In graduate school, Dr. Warrener did not see any reason to doubt the obstetrical dilemma. But in 2015, after studying volunteers walking on treadmills, Dr. Warrener found that having a wider pelvis did not create a bigger demand for oxygen. Holly Dunsworth, a biological anthropologist now at the University of Rhode Island, also became disenchanted with the obstetrical dilemma when she took a close look at the evidence.
Persons: Anna Warrener, , Warrener, Holly Dunsworth, Organizations: University of Colorado, University of Rhode Locations: University of Colorado Denver, University of Rhode Island
CNN —Fragments of a skull believed to have been that of composer Ludwig van Beethoven have been donated to a university in Austria after spending decades in the United States. Seligmann, who died in 1892, had been a physician, medical historian and anthropologist in Vienna. The skull pieces, now referred to as the Seligmann fragments, came into his possession in 1863 during a reburial of Beethoven’s bones for study purposes. Rischgitz/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesIn 1802, 25 years before his death, Beethoven wrote a letter to his brothers, asking that his doctor, Johann Adam Schmidt, determine and share the nature of his “illness” after his death. Christian Reiter, a Vienna-based forensic pathologist, has previously examined the skull fragments and deemed them to be credible.
Persons: Ludwig van Beethoven, Paul Kaufmann, , Franz Romeo Seligmann, Seligmann, Beethoven, Johann Adam Schmidt, Kaufmann, , , Max Planck, Markus Müller, Christian Reiter, piecing Organizations: CNN, Medical University of Vienna, Seligmann, Max, Max Planck Institute, Beethoven Locations: Austria, United States, American, Vienna, Carmichael , California, France, Vienna’s, Germany, Leipzig
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyA deer tooth pendant has revealed details about the woman who wore it between 19,000 and 25,000 years ago. The groundbreaking analysis by a team of European researchers marks the first time scientists have successfully isolated ancient human DNA from a Stone Age artifact. Gregory BretonWith large ears and adorable faces, sand cats went viral seven years ago when their kittens were photographed in the wild for the first time. Although smaller than domestic cats, sand cats live in harsh environments with scorching heat, hunt venomous Saharan horned vipers and rely on blood from prey as a source of water. To unravel the many mysteries of sand cats, researchers tracked 22 of the felines that had been fitted with radio collars for four years.
Scientists have recovered the DNA of a woman from the tooth, which was used as a pendant 19,000 to 25,000 years ago. The pristine collection of the pendant from Denisova Cave paid dividends. The researchers who found the pendant, which was determined to be 19,000-25,000 years old, used gloves and face masks when excavating and handling it, avoiding contamination with modern DNA. The oldest-known objects used as personal adornments date to about 100,000 years ago from Africa, according to the University of Leiden's Marie Soressi, the study's senior archeologist. Denisova Cave long ago was inhabited at different times by the extinct human species called Denisovans, Neanderthals and our species.
CNN —Traces of ancient DNA contained in old bones have spilled fascinating secrets about the past. The research, published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, revealed intriguing details about its ancient wearer and is the first time scientists have successfully isolated ancient human DNA from a Stone Age artifact. Shown here is the ancient DNA extraction lab at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyTypically, researchers would use a small drill to extract bone powder from an artifact or bone. The pierced deer tooth discovered in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia yielded ancient human DNA.
Known as the Xiongnu, the empire saw conflict with great rival imperial China that resulted in the construction of the Great Wall, parts of which still stand today. Now, ancient DNA evidence, combined with the fruits of recent archaeological digs, is spilling the secrets of one of the era’s most powerful political forces. Excavation of the Xiongnu Elite Tomb 64 contains a high-status aristocratic woman at the site of a cemetery at Takhiltyn Khotgor in Mongolia's Altai Mountains. Golden icons of the sun and moon, symbols of the Xiongnu, decorate a coffin found in Elite Tomb 64 at the Takhiltyn Khotgor site. “And it was this potent legacy…that the Mongols took up when they created their own empire many more centuries later.”
Researchers said on Wednesday his genome showed the German composer was both genetically predisposed to liver disease and had hepatitis B virus infection. The new findings suggest there were multiple factors behind his liver disease including genetics, viral infection and alcohol consumption. "Prior to this study, alcohol was the only definitely known risk factor for Beethoven's liver disease." Beethoven experienced progressive hearing loss starting at age 29 and by 44 his hearing loss was complete, though he continued to compose masterpieces. There was no evidence found for conditions hypothesized by some experts such as otosclerosis or Paget's disease, Begg said.
Tom Bjoerklund/Handout via REUTERSMarch 1 (Reuters) - Europe was no balmy paradise during the Ice Age, with the vast glaciers that blanketed large parts of the continent rendering wide swathes inhospitable for humans. While some populations hunkered down and survived in relatively warmer parts of Europe, including France, Spain and Portugal, others died out on the Italian peninsula, the study showed. "It refreshes our knowledge of how human beings survived the Ice Age," added paleogeneticist and study co-author He Yu of Peking University in China. Homo sapiens arose roughly 300,000 years ago in Africa, then spread worldwide, reaching Europe at least 45,000 years ago. The only people who survived this harshest period in Europe were hunter-gatherers who had found refuge in portions of France and the Iberian peninsula, the study found.
NEW YORK — Scientists discovered the oldest known DNA and used it to reveal what life was like 2 million years ago in the northern tip of Greenland. With animal fossils hard to come by, the researchers extracted environmental DNA, also known as eDNA, from soil samples. Studying really old DNA can be a challenge because the genetic material breaks down over time, leaving scientists with only tiny fragments. In their study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, they compared the DNA to that of different species, looking for matches. He worked on the study that previously held the “oldest DNA” record, from a mammoth tooth around a million years old.
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