paleoanthropology
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Scientists Reconstruct 12-Million-Year-Old Ape Skull
A team of paleoanthropologists has assembled the only known cranium of the extinct ape Pierolapithecus catalaunicus, revealing how the ape’s face looked. The reconstruction allows them to place Pierolapithecus on the hominid family tree and improves our understanding of how the ape moved around Spain some 12 million years ago. Pierolapithecus was first described in…
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2.9-Million-Year-Old Artifacts Suggest Ancient, Big-Toothed Hominin Made Stone Tools
Oldowan tools are some of the oldest known in the archaeological record; made of conveniently shaped rocks or crafted from knapped stones, these tools made it possible for hominin species to survive in a hostile world.
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Move Over Neanderthals, Newly Discovered ‘Dragon Man’ Might Be Our True Sister Species
A comprehensive analysis of an unusually large skull found in Harbin, China has led to the reported discovery of a previously unknown species of extinct human, dubbed “Dragon Man.” Dating back some 146,000 years, the skull is forcing a re-think of human evolution in Asia during the Middle Pleistocene, but uncertainties about the fossil’s exact…
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Ancient Stone Tools Hint At The Real Paleo Diet
Archaeologists have discovered a treasure trove of ancient stone tools at a dig near Azraq, Jordan, some of which still contain traces of animal residue. A number of food items on this bona fide paleolithic menu will be familiar to the modern eater, while others, well, not so much.