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☆ How Denisovans survived and thrived on ‘the roof of the world’
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-03 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“We know that the Denisovans lived, occupied the cave and this Tibetan plateau for such a long time, we really want to know, how did they live there? Analysis of bone fragments unearthed during excavations at Baishiya Karst Cave have revealed what animals Denisovans butchered, ate and processed. Traces of Denisovan DNA found in present-day people suggest the ancient species likely once lived across much of Asia. Many of the bones recovered from Baishiya Karst Cave, like this spotted hyena vertebra, contain traces of human activities such as cut marks. Unlike Denisova Cave, which was occupied by early modern humans and Neanderthals as well as Denisovans, current evidence suggests that Denisovans were the only group of humans to live at Baishiya Karst Cave, Zhang said.

Persons: CNN — Denisovans, Denisovans, ”, Dongju Zhang, Zhang, Denisovan, Frido Welker, Xia Li, Welker, Dongju, Samantha Brown, ” Brown Organizations: CNN, Lanzhou University, Globe, Paleoanthropology, University of Copenhagen, Mass, Junior, Palaeoproteomics, Germany’s University of Tübingen Locations: Xiahe, China’s Gansu, —, China, Lanzhou, Cave, Altai, Siberia, Asia, Laos, Southeast Asia, Ganjia, Australia

☆ Human bones unearthed from a German cave have altered the timeline of ancient human history
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Ellyn Lapointe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

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

☆ Bird-like dinosaur with surprising features discovered in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The fossil of a tiny bird-like dinosaur with surprisingly long lower legs has been discovered in China. However, in birds, it’s a feature also present in wading birds like storks and cranes, making it possible that Fujianvenator lived in a swampy aquatic environment. Other known early bird-like dinosaurs lived in trees and were more aerial in nature, the study said. While no feathers were preserved in the fossil, it’s highly likely Fujianvenator had them because its closest relatives in the dinosaur family tree did, Wang said. It can’t be determined from the fossil whether the bird-like dinosaur could fly or not, he added.

Persons: Fuijianvenator, Fuijian, Min Wang, “, ”, Wang Organizations: CNN, Vertebrate Paleontology, Fujian Institute of Geological Survey Locations: China, what’s, Fujian, Beijing

☆ 'Bizarre' long-legged bird-like dinosaur has scientists enthralled
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A life reconstruction of the bird-like dinosaur Fujianvenator prodigiosus, which lived 148 million to 150 million years ago in China, is seen in this illustration. Asked for a word to describe Fujianvenator, Wang replied, "I would say 'bizarre.' Fujianvenator is a member of a grouping called avialans that includes all birds and their closest non-avian dinosaur relatives, Wang said. "The forelimb is generally built like a bird's wing, but with three claws on the fingers, which are absent from modern birds. There is still a big gap between the oldest known bird and the second-oldest known birds," Zhou said.

Persons: Chuang Zhao, Handout, Fujianvenator, Min Wang, Wang, Zhonghe Zhou, Zhou, Will Dunham, Daniel Wallis Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Vertebrate Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Thomson Locations: China, Fujian Province, Germany, Fujianvenator, Washington

☆ Homo floresiensis: The curious case of the hobbit and what its remarkable discovery taught us
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

The Liang Bua cave excavation site, where the fossils of Homo floresiensis were discovered on the island of Flores in Indonesia. A 3D cast of the skeleton of Homo Floresiensis on display at Stony Brook University, part of the State University of New York system. The Liang Bua team named the species Homo floresiensis after the island where the fossils were discovered. Sutikna said that a thick layer of volcanic ash was found just on top of the layer where Homo floresiensis was first found. And above the volcanic ash layer, we did not find any fossils of Homo floresiensis or other ancient animals,” he said.

Persons: Thomas Sutikna, trowel, Liang Bua, Sutikna, ”, floresiensis, Achmad Ibrahim, Saptomo, Tim Wiencis, Mike Morwood, Liang, hobbitus —, floresianus —, Paige Madison, Bert Roberts, Robert Pearce, Bua, Homo erectus, erectus, chimplike wristbones, Lucy, australopithecines, Chris Stringer, “ I’m, ” Stringer, “, luzonensis, Matt Tocheri, Flores, Mata Menge, Flores hobbits, Tocheri, ’ There’s, Stringer, it’s, ” Tocheri, ” Madison, we’re Organizations: CNN, Indonesia’s, Archaeometric Research, Research and Innovation Agency, Stony Brook University, State University of New, University of Wollongong, Sydney Morning Herald, Fairfax Media, AP, Lakehead University, Smithsonian Institution Locations: Indonesian, Liang, Flores, Indonesia, Jakarta, Stony, State University of New York, Australian, Australia, Africa, Java, Asia, London, South Africa, Philippines, Yogyakarta, Canada, Thunder Bay , Ontario, It’s, Madison, Sulawesi

☆ Cannibalism, or ‘Clickbait’?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Franz Lidz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Everybody’s quick to see a cannibal. The Romans thought the ancient Britons feasted on human flesh, and the British thought the same about the Irish. Not a few prehistoric finds have been attributed, evocatively if not accurately, to the work of ancient cannibals. The news release described the finding as the “oldest decisive evidence” of such behavior. Or, put another way, How much premodern evidence is needed to prove a modern theory?

Persons: Mark Twain, “, —, Briana Organizations: National, of Locations: Kenya

☆ Early humans left Africa earlier than previously thought, fossil discovery reveals
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

DNA analysis of present-day human populations has supported the hypothesis that early modern humans left Africa around 50,000 to 60,000 years ago, and archaeologists have thought our early ancestors likely followed coastlines and islands through southeast Asia toward Australia. However, a growing number of older human remains discovered in China and the Levant show that this chapter in the human story is more complicated than first thought. The cave was occupied by early humans for about 50,000 years, archaeologists believe. At a nearby site, known as Cobra Cave, a tooth believed to belong to a Denisovan, an elusive early human, has been found. The team expects to unearth more human fossils from the region.

Persons: sapiens, ”, Kira Westaway, ” Westaway, Westaway, Tam Pa Ling, Tam Pà Ling Organizations: CNN, Macquarie University, UNESCO, Heritage, Nature Communications Locations: Africa, Laos, Australia, Asia, China, Tam Pa, Sumatra, Philippines, Borneo, Indonesia

☆ Homo naledi buried their dead 100,000 years before humans
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The study team lays out fossils of Homo naledi at the University of the Witwatersrand's Evolutionary Studies Institute in Johannesburg. One body belonged to an adult Homo naledi, and the other was a juvenile. In 2018, the team began to find evidence that supported the idea that Homo naledi intentionally buried their dead. Carvings on the wallWithin one of the graves is a tool-shaped rock, buried next to the hand of a Homo naledi adult. The "tool shaped rock" was likely buried near or clutched in the hand of a young teenage Homo naledi child buried in the Hill Antechamber.

Persons: naledi, Robert Clark, Homo naledi, Lee Berger, Homo, paleoartist John Gurche, Mark Thiessen, ”, Berger, Tebogo Makhubela, Keneiloe Molopyane, ” Berger, “, John Hawks, Hawks, “ It’s, they’ve, Agustín Fuentes, ” Fuentes, Fuentes, Lee Berger Chris Stringer, ” Stringer Organizations: CNN —, University of, Evolutionary Studies, UNESCO, Geographic, University of Johannesburg, Expedition, University of Wisconsin - Locations: Johannesburg, South Africa, University of Wisconsin - Madison

☆ Archeologists made a game-changing discovery at Greece's oldest dig site where ancient humans used to roam 700,000 years ago
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Nicholas Paphitis | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Archeologists discovered simple stone tools that date back an estimated 700,000 years. The discovery was made at Greece's oldest site where ancient humans were thought to exist. The Greek site was one of five investigated in the Megalopolis area during a five-year project involving an international team of experts, a Culture Ministry statement said. This skull from a member of the deer family was also discovered at the dig site Megalopolis, southern Greece. These stone tools, discovered at the dig site Megalopolis, southern Greece, date back about 700,000 years ago.

Persons: —, Panagiotis Karkanas, Eleni Panagopoulou, Katerina Harvati, Homo antecessor, antecessor, directorss, Nikos Efstratiou, Efstratiou, Megalopolis Organizations: Service, Ministry, Greek Culture Ministry, American School of Classical Studies, Athens, University of Tübingen, Associated Press, Greece's University of Thessaloniki Locations: ATHENS, Greece, Europe, Spain, Germany, Megalopolis, Mycenae, Olympia, Pylos

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