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Early Humans News -- ScienceDaily
Read about early humans in this anthropology news section. Early human development, early human migration, culture and more. Photos.

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When did the genetic variations that make us human emerge?
'); document.write('The study of the genomes of our closest relatives, the Neanderthals and Denisovans, has opened up new research paths that can broaden our understanding of the evolutionary history of Homo sapiens. A new study has made an estimation of the time when some of the genetic variants that characterize our species emerged. It does so by analyzing mutations that are very frequent in modern human populations, but not in these other species of archaic humans.'); document.write('
DNA from ancient population in Southern China suggests Native Americans\' East Asian roots
'); document.write('For the first time, researchers successfully sequenced the genome of ancient human fossils from the Late Pleistocene in southern China. The data suggests that the mysterious hominin belonged to an extinct maternal branch of modern humans that might have contributed to the origin of Native Americans.'); document.write('
The importance of elders
'); document.write('In a new paper, researchers challenge the longstanding view that the force of natural selection in humans must decline to zero once reproduction is complete. They assert that a long post-reproductive lifespan is not just due to recent advancements in health and medicine. The secret to our success? Our grandparents.'); document.write('
How placentas evolved in mammals
'); document.write('The fossil record tells us about ancient life through the preserved remains of body parts like bones, teeth and turtle shells. But how to study the history of soft tissues and organs, which can decay quickly, leaving little evidence behind? In a new study, scientists use gene expression patterns, called transcriptomics, to investigate the ancient origins of one organ: the placenta, which is vital to pregnancy.'); document.write('
New genetic research on remote Pacific islands yields surprising findings on world\'s earliest seafarers
'); document.write('New genetic research from remote islands in the Pacific offers fresh insights into the ancestry and culture of the world\'s earliest seafarers, including family structure, social customs, and the ancestral populations of the people living there today.'); document.write('
Ice Age wolf DNA reveals dogs trace ancestry to two separate wolf populations
'); document.write('An international group of geneticists and archaeologists have found that the ancestry of dogs can be traced to at least two populations of ancient wolves. The work moves us a step closer to uncovering the mystery of where dogs underwent domestication, one of the biggest unanswered questions about human prehistory.'); document.write('
Fossils in the \'Cradle of Humankind\' may be more than a million years older than previously thought
'); document.write('For decades, scientists have studied these fossils of early human ancestors and their long-lost relatives. Now, a dating method developed by geologists just pushed the age of some of these fossils found at the site of Sterkfontein Caves back more than a million years. This would make them older than Dinkinesh, also called Lucy, the world\'s most famous Australopithecus fossil.'); document.write('
The heat is on: Traces of fire uncovered dating back at least 800,000 years
'); document.write('Scientists reveal an advanced, innovative method that they have developed and used to detect nonvisual traces of fire dating back at least 800,000 years -- one of the earliest known pieces of evidence for the use of fire. The newly developed technique may provide a push toward a more scientific, data-driven type of archaeology, but -- perhaps more importantly -- it could help us better understand the origins of the human story, our most basic traditions and our experimental and innovative nature.'); document.write('
Many human genomes shaped by past events that caused sharp dips in the population, study finds
'); document.write('The genomes of many human populations show evidence of founder events, which occur when a small number of initial members start a new population, and can lead to low genetic diversity as well as increase the risk of certain genetic diseases in the new population.'); document.write('
1,700-year-old Korean genomes show genetic heterogeneity in Three Kingdoms period Gaya
'); document.write('Scientists have successfully sequenced and studied the whole genome of eight 1,700-year-old individuals dated to the Three Kingdoms period of Korea (approx. 57 BC-668 AD). The first published genomes from this period in Korea and bring key information for the understanding of Korean population history.'); document.write('
Researchers reconstruct the genome of centuries-old E. coli using fragments extracted from an Italian mummy
'); document.write('Researchers have identified and reconstructed the first ancient genome of E. coli, using fragments extracted from the gallstone of a 16th century mummy.'); document.write('
Bioarchaeological evidence of very early Islamic burials in the Levant
'); document.write('A new study combining archaeological, historical and bioarchaeological data provides new insights into the early Islamic period in modern-day Syria. The research team was planning to focus on a much older time period but came across what they believe to be remains of early Muslims in the Syrian countryside.'); document.write('
Chromatin originated in ancient microbes one to two billion years ago
'); document.write('Researchers now reveal that nature\'s storage solution first evolved in ancient microbes living on Earth between one and two billion years ago.'); document.write('
\'Fantastic giant tortoise,\' believed extinct, confirmed alive in the Galápagos
'); document.write('A tortoise from a Galápagos species long believed extinct has been found alive. Fernanda, named after her Fernandina Island home, is the first of her species identified in more than a century. Geneticist successfully extracted DNA from a specimen collected from the same island more than a century ago and confirmed that Fernanda and the museum specimen are members of the same species and genetically distinct from all other Galápagos tortoises.'); document.write('
How species form: What the tangled history of polar bear and brown bear relations tells us
'); document.write('A new study is providing an enhanced look at the intertwined evolutionary histories of polar bears and brown bears. Becoming separate species did not completely stop these animals from mating with each other. Scientists have known this for some time, but the new research draws on an expanded dataset -- including DNA from an ancient polar bear tooth -- to tease out more detail.'); document.write('