john hawks weblog

paleoanthropology, genetics and evolution

Ardi in SEED

Wed, 2009-10-07 12:00 -- John Hawks

SEED magazine commissioned me to write an article about Ardipithecus. It's general interest and doesn't have stuff that my blog readers haven't seen, but I do like this analogy:

For comparison, sit down and bend your leg at the knee. With the heel of your hand just under your knee, chances are you can reach halfway down your shin. From that same position, Ardi could tickle her toes.

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.