Neanderthal remains from the Altai Mountains contain human viruses, a team of researchers has found, suggesting that infectious diseases may have been transmitted between anatomically modern humans and our closest (extinct) cousins.
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.
A sweeping analysis of European and Asian genomes over the last 40,000 years reveals when and how some genetic exchange occurred between Homo sapiens and our closest cousins, Homo neanderthalensis. It also shows how the Neanderthals’ genetic footprint depended on later exchanges between members of our own species.
Archaeologists investigating cut logs and other wooden tools at a site near Zambia’s Kalambo Falls have found the settlement to be far more ancient than previously thought: the logs date back to nearly half a million years ago, before our species (Homo sapiens) appeared on Earth.
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.