(When we talk about “intelligence,” we’re describing something complex and, frankly, sort of nebulous; it’s impossible to really quantify, but […]
Category: Neanderthals
Never mind Band-Aids, Neanderthals had antiseptic birch tar
Our view of Neanderthal life keeps getting more complex and vibrant. This replica shows how Neanderthals might have used birch […]
Neanderthals seemed to have a thing for modern human women
By now, it’s firmly established that modern humans and their Neanderthal relatives met and mated as our ancestors expanded out […]
We have a fossil closer to our split with Neanderthals and Denisovans
The Casablanca fossils are about the same age as hominin fossils from Spain, which belong to a species called Homo […]
This is the oldest evidence of people starting fires
We didn’t start the fire. (Neanderthals did, at least 400,000 years ago.) This artist’s impression shows what the fire at […]
Wear marks suggest Neanderthals made ocher crayons
“The combination of shaping, wear, and resharpening indicates they were used to draw or mark on soft surfaces,” D’Errico told […]
Lead poisoning has been a feature of our evolution
Lead poisoning has been a feature of our evolution A recent study found lead in teeth from 2 million-year-old hominin […]
Fermented meat with a side of maggots: A new look at the Neanderthal diet
Traditionally, Indigenous peoples almost universally viewed thoroughly putrefied, maggot-infested animal foods as highly desirable fare, not starvation rations. In fact, […]
Local cuisine was on the menu at Cafe Neanderthal
Gazelle prepared “a la Amud,” or “a la Kebara”? Neanderthals at Kebara had pretty broad tastes in meat. The butchered […]
We’ve had a Denisovan skull since the 1930s—only nobody knew
It’s a Denisovan? Always has been. After years of mystery, we now know what at least one Denisovan looked like. […]