early modern human
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Smart Neanderthals Made Tools Using Glue, Study Finds
A trove of Neanderthal tools made between 120,000 and 40,000 years ago were forged with glue, according to a team of researchers that recently studied the objects. The research revealed the oldest evidence of a complex adhesive in Europe, according to an NYU release. The adhesive—composed of bitumen, an asphalt component that also occurs naturally…
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Only 1,280 Reproductive Ancestors of Humans Once Roamed Earth, Gene Study Suggests
Humankind struggled to survive during a 100,000 year period during the early Pleistocene, according to researchers who used a computer model to discover a severe population bottleneck in our species’ ancient past. The bottleneck occurred between 813,000 years ago and 930,000 years ago, and reduced an ancestral human species to less than 1,300 breeding individuals.…
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Oldest Known Fossil of a Modern Human May Be Even More Ancient Than We Thought
Scientists say a Homo sapiens fossil found in Ethiopia in the 1960s is at least 233,000 years old, which would make it 36,000 years older than the previous estimate.
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Child Skull of Enigmatic Ancient Human Found in South African Cave
It’s tiny, incomplete, and undeniably awesome. Named “Leti,” this is the first known skull belonging to a Homo naledi child — a fossil that’s shedding new light onto this mysterious group of extinct humans.