john hawks weblog

paleoanthropology, genetics and evolution

Quote: Nero Wolfe on bipeds

Mon, 2009-11-16 16:20 -- John Hawks

Nero Wolfe, in The Rubber Band, by Rex Stout:

What is it that he has been trying so desperately to preserve, with all his ruthless cunning? His position in society, his high repute among his fellow men, his nimbus as a master biped. Well, he will lose all that, which should be enough for any law.

This, in a book that used "biped" once earlier. It's got me thinking of lost hominin nimbuses.

Nimbi?

Tags: 

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.