anthropology

Does this 150,000 year old skull show the first case of human-on-human violence?

An ancient human skull found in China shows evidence of blunt force trauma, meaning some other human probably hit him on the head. Considering how old the skull is, this might as well be considered the invention of violence. Of course, violence – even of the human-on-human variety – existed long before this human got…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Nov 21

How to Shrink a Human Head

Because we know you were dying to know. This video features Piers Gibbon — a British explorer, author, and National Geographic TV show host — describing the head-shrinking process long performed by the Shuar people of Ecuador and Peru. Below is a quick recap of the process, also provided by Gibbon, in a recent interview…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Nov 8

Jawbone fragment suggests humans settled Europe thousands of years earlier than we once thought

Sometimes it really pays to take a second look at old findings. The fragment of jaw bone pictured above, believed to have belonged to an anatomically modern human, was first discovered over 80 years ago in Kents Cavern, an archaeologically rich cave system located in South England. For decades scientists believed the specimen to be…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Nov 4

Neanderthals and Modern Humans, Like, Got Busy

Despite representing different stages of human evolution, it looks like European Homo Sapiens might have had a penchant for a little Neanderthal booty. Or vice versa. Two new studies show that humans and Neanderthals overlapped by about 5,000 years in Europe, and, like, hung out, if you know what I mean. Scientists re-analyzed two teeth…

Tech News Kristen Philipkoski Nov 2

What do ancient penis decorations say about us?

At what point does sex cease to function as a purely practical means of reproduction? In other words, by what process does sex become something more than just a biological imperative; when do things like eroticism and sexuality emerge in an anthropological context? Sex and sexuality have obviously been well-established cornerstones of humanity’s collective social…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Nov 2

Neanderthals were enjoying the finer things in life 250,000 years ago

The old idea of Neanderthals as a species of brutish primitives has already been pretty well exploded, but this is as good a nail in the coffin as any: Neanderthals were treating themselves to fancy foods 250,000 years ago. That’s the finding of researchers Bruce Hardy of Kenyon College and Marie-Hélène Moncel of France’s Natural…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Oct 30

Orangutan populations develop different cultures just like humans

We know that humans aren’t the only species to develop cultures, as other great apes can learn social behaviors and pass them down through multiple generations. Now it appears we all evolved the capacity for culture at the same time. The term “culture” evokes a lot of lofty concepts – art, literature, history, science –…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Oct 23

100,000-year old art kit found in South Africa

The oldest ever evidence that early humans painted has been found in South Africa, in the form of two kits for mixing and forming ochre, a reddish pigment used to dye clothing, paint, and create face paint. Ochre is a naturally occurring red stone that has been associated across the globe with early art, thanks…

io9 Tim Barribeau Oct 14

The most bad-ass “donations please” advertisement ever conceived

At India’s Sri Angalaparameswariamman Temple, villagers hung up a sign soliciting for donations for remodeling. Incidentally, they accompanied this sign with a 15-foot-tall statute of the goddess Angalaamman tearing out a woman’s organs and bandying around a miniature naked manikin. These are the kind of in-your-face tactics you won’t learn in namby-pamby business school. I’ve…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Oct 12

Study: irresolute rakes attracted to prominent front porches

Sociological research! Sometimes it involves staring at women’s chests. Indeed, a recent study of 128 heterosexual Polish men has divined that fellows who are less interested in long-term relationships are more enthused by larger breasts. Participants were asked to rate 15 pictures of bosoms of varying sizes from three different angles (“front view, oblique view,…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Oct 9

In certain South American cultures, epileptics are “the undead,” trapped between life and death

An interesting paper on the cultural dimensions of epilepsy among the Guaraní people of South America has recently come to our attention. Rather than be condemned as the victims of demonic possession — which can be the case in other cultures — epileptics among the Guaraní have been historically regarded as those perpetually cycling between…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Oct 8

Computer simulation reveals why it’s hard to export democracy to the world

Why are so many societies based on hierarchy rather than egalitarian values, despite the fact that evidence suggests ancient human communities were often fairly egalitarian? Stanford researchers wanted to find out. So they designed a computer simulation that compared two basic types of societies: egalitarian ones, in which all resources are shared equally, and hierarchical…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Sep 29

Neanderthals were eating brain-expanding shellfish 150,000 years ago

Shellfish has a surprisingly important place in our evolutionary story. One theory says shellfish fueled the expansion of our brains, while another gives it credit for saving our species. Turns out Neanderthals liked shellfish just as much as we did. Shellfish are a plentiful source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for higher brain…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Sep 16

Ancient humans were just having sex with everyone

We know that as ancient humans expanded into Eurasia, they began interbreeding with our Neanderthal cousins. But it now appears that the fun didn’t start there – our ancestors also reproduced with precursors like Homo erectus and Homo habilis. https://gizmodo.com/confirmed-all-non-african-people-are-part-neanderthal-5822357 Thanks to DNA evidence, it’s now well-established that humans interbred successfully with Neanderthals and another…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Sep 6

The Oldest-Ever Homo Erectus Gadgets Revealed

They might look like a bunch of rocks, but scientists say this is the oldest-ever collection of hand axes, picks and other cutting tools used mainly by our ancient human cousins, Homo erectus. A new analysis of the stone tools show they are 1.76 million years old – about 350,000 years older than previous estimates.…

Tech News Kristen Philipkoski Aug 31

Humans have been using tools for 300,000 years longer than we thought

Our hominid ancestors Homo erectus turned rocks like this into complex tools nearly two million years ago…hundreds of thousands years earlier than previously thought. The new find helps fill in some crucial blanks in our evolutionary history. Many animals have come up with the basics of tool use, but it was Homo erectus that first…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Aug 31

Help decode ancient Egyptian texts by playing a puzzle game

Want to help transcribe ancient Greek texts from the comfort of your couch? Have no understanding of the Greek language? That’s ok! With Egypt Exploration Society and Oxford University’s Ancient Lives project, you can contribute to the work of researchers who are digitizing — and eventually decoding — the vast holdings of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri,…

io9 Keith Veronese Aug 30

Ancient toe might prove that all ancient humanoid species were constantly having sex with each other

Late last year, we learned that early humans and Neanderthals once shared Eurasia with a third hominin group, known as Denisovans. Now, the new discovery of a Denisovan toe bone might indicate that these three hominin groups were pretty much constantly interbreeding. https://gizmodo.com/another-humanoid-species-co-existed-with-early-humans-a-5715516 This new find is exciting scientists – so much so, in fact,…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Aug 10

A theory that could finally explain how the Great Pyramids of Egypt were built

There are many theories about how the Great Pyramid in Egypt was constructed, ranging from UFOs to elaborate ramps and machines. But none has ever fully explained how mere human effort could raise such an incredible structure. Until now. A French architect named Jean-Pierre Houdin has used 3D modeling software, combined with rigorous study of…

io9 Annalee Newitz Aug 3

There were just too many humans for Neanderthals to survive

The extinction of the Neanderthals remains a matter of intense debate. Were we smarter than them? More warlike? Or perhaps we simply sexed them into extinction? The real answer might have more to do with our quantity than our qualities. https://gizmodo.com/confirmed-all-non-african-people-are-part-neanderthal-5822357 For about 300,000 years, Europe was pretty much the undisputed domain of the Neanderthals.…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Jul 31

Does this 150,000 year old skull show the first case of human-on-human violence?

How to Shrink a Human Head

Jawbone fragment suggests humans settled Europe thousands of years earlier than we once thought

Neanderthals and Modern Humans, Like, Got Busy

What do ancient penis decorations say about us?

Neanderthals were enjoying the finer things in life 250,000 years ago

Orangutan populations develop different cultures just like humans

100,000-year old art kit found in South Africa

The most bad-ass “donations please” advertisement ever conceived

Study: irresolute rakes attracted to prominent front porches

In certain South American cultures, epileptics are “the undead,” trapped between life and death

Computer simulation reveals why it’s hard to export democracy to the world

Neanderthals were eating brain-expanding shellfish 150,000 years ago

Ancient humans were just having sex with everyone

The Oldest-Ever Homo Erectus Gadgets Revealed

Humans have been using tools for 300,000 years longer than we thought

Help decode ancient Egyptian texts by playing a puzzle game

Ancient toe might prove that all ancient humanoid species were constantly having sex with each other

A theory that could finally explain how the Great Pyramids of Egypt were built

There were just too many humans for Neanderthals to survive

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