Alison Campbell • Jun 12, 2019 •
One of the questions students often ask, when we’re discussing human evolution, is “what happened to the Neanderthals?” After all, this was a large-brained species closely related to our own, with some fairly complex tool technologies and the ability to survive (and thrive) in harsh environmental conditions. Yet they appear to have been replaced by anatomically-modern humans (in Europe, anyway) … Read More
Jean Balchin • Apr 16, 2017 •
Human cannibalism is a deliciously fascinating topic. Identifying the motivations for human cannibalism remains a contentious issue. A recently-constructed nutritional template for the human body suggests that prehistoric human cannibalism was most likely motivated by something other than nutritional needs. Human flesh may have been cooked for greater calorific value. James Cole, from the University of Brighton found that the … Read More
Alison Campbell • Nov 07, 2016 •
A while ago now (6 years ago, in fact! How time flies when you’re having fun), I wrote a piece about some fairly wild claims made about Neandertals. Rather surprisingly this post continues to attract occasional comments from those who firmly believe in the idea that Neandertals were cannibalistic, brutish savages rather than our very close cousins, an idea … Read More
Peter Dearden • Jul 11, 2015 •
Our extinct relatives still shape the way we evolve. Read More
Peter Dearden • Dec 20, 2013 •
Peter K. Dearden. One key question in biology is what makes us different as a species. Humans have a remarkable set of adaptations that distinguish us from even our closest living relatives. We walk upright, we have larger brains, we use language, and we are consummate tool-makers and users. From the point of view of an alien, perhaps, these differences … Read More
Peter Dearden • Sep 02, 2010 •
Mary Gray, PhD student, Clinical Genetics Research Group They huddled in their fur pelts wrapped against their dark skin with cords made from hide and gut. No one had travelled this far north before in the history of their people, and it was late enough for the wolves to come out. In the foothills ahead they could see the distinct … Read More
David Winter • Jun 08, 2010 •
I got a little bit starry eyed writing about the Neanderthal genome the other day. I chose to retrace the arc of scientific progress that links the initial description of Neanderthal man as something different than modern humans to the point reached l... Read More