john hawks weblog

paleoanthropology, genetics and evolution

Sketchbook

Wed, 2009-05-13 09:45 -- John Hawks

Today's sketchbook

Kenneth Branagh in Wallander

Kenneth Branagh is appearing on Mystery this month in the British production of "Wallander." I love the way they light him throughout the whole thing -- they balance natural light on one side with artificial on the other, leaving a darkness etching across his face. I suppose they're going for that Ibsen quality for this Swedish detective.

So I had to draw him, although it took a while to find a screenshot. The likeness is not great here, he looks a little like Andy Serkis. I might try again with a different picture because the tones are great, kind of like the silent movie stills I've been drawing.

4B, which is now worn down to a tiny nub that Goodwin thinks is his size.

Neandertals

For years, I've worked on their bones. Now I'm working on their genes. Read more about the science studying these ancient people.

Denisova

From a finger bone of an ancient human came the record of a completely unexpected population. My lab is working on the science of the Denisova genome.

Acceleration

The advent of agriculture caused natural selection to speed up greatly in humans. We're uncovering some of the ways that populations have rapidly changed during the last 10,000 years.

Malapa

Just outside Johannesburg, the Malapa site is producing some of the most exciting finds in human evolution. This site is the headquarters of the Malapa Soft Tissue Project.